MEDUSA, LATER ON.
Charred lime wood, silver wire, bird's nest and 3D printed robins.
Inspiration for Medusa, Later on, a lime wood carving of Caravaggio's 1596 painting came from hearing Chris Packham talk at the University of Bath last summer. CP spoke of the human animal's trauma response to the climate emergency; not fight, not flight, but freeze. The danger being so all encompassing, insurmountable We are petrified.
Fabrication took several months, constructive processes, destructive acts. The wood was charred with a blowtorch. I filled the head with explosives.– a box of fireworks. Immolation. When I was finished, I jammed an abandoned bird's nest into the cavity where the mouth had been and attached two representations of robins. Maybe it suggests there is hope, like the end of Blue Velvet. Possibly post human hope, when the stories and myths are just bones. Maybe it means something else.
From the exhibition blurb: "This year’s theme, SOFT LANDING, explores how art can turn difficult or uncertain feelings into something open, playful, or comforting. We’re looking for works that respond to personal, social, or global issues — from everyday anxieties to wider political or environmental concerns — but offer moments of calm, humour, or tenderness. We’re interested in how the act of making can be a cathartic process, and how the resulting work can invite curiosity, connection, and conversation."
On the opening night I realise I probably didn't hit the brief. My work seemed very black, and not very comforting. I suppose that was why they attached it to the wall outside the main galleries, two feet above the picture line, where it was ignored by everyone who walked past it.
